“The human mind devises many plans but it is the purpose of the Lord that prevails.”
Proverbs 19:21
I don’t know a single person that likes interruptions.
Whether it happens while we are talking or attending to something we deem important, interruptions make us stop what we are doing and adjust to them. We can’t usually plan for them. And that can make them pretty annoying.
So we try to avoid them, ignore them, or get angry at them. They are a burden, not a blessing.
But if there is one thing the Bible teaches in story after story, it’s that if we want to encounter God -- we better get used to some interruptions.
Abraham & Sarah, Moses, Jonah, Mary, and so many of God’s people encountered the power of God only when they were willing to adjust to life’s interruptions. Life’s interruptions were where God showed up and spoke to them. Interruptions were God’s way of reminding them that sometimes God’s plans for us are different from our plans for ourselves.
Now, that’s not to say that they didn’t get annoyed from time to time. Certainly, when your family doesn’t start until the age of 90, or you get a burning call that threatens to change the trajectory of your entire life, or you are told to come to the aid of your enemy, or you experience an unplanned pregnancy -- these interruptions are not convenient (to say the least).
But had they not been open and willing to adjust these interruptions, they never would have experienced the fullness of God’s blessing for their lives.
So, next time your kid calls for you while you are in the middle of cooking dinner…
Or the phone rings late at night…
Or your boss gives you a last minute assignment…
Or tragedy strikes…
Or your plan for your life suddenly changes…
What if we practiced being open to interruption?
Perhaps we won’t ever be excited or happy about interruptions -- at least not at first. But could we learn to see them as something other than a burden?
What if we asked God to help us find the blessing instead?
Pastor Kate
